Systems that are currently available for simultaneous scanning and counting of documents such as paper currency are relatively complex and costly, and relatively large in size. The complexity of such systems can also lead to excessive service and maintenance requirements. These drawbacks have inhibited more widespread use of such systems, particularly in banks and other financial institutions where space is limited in areas where the systems are most needed, such as teller areas. The above drawbacks are particularly difficult to overcome in systems which offer much-needed features such as the ability to authenticate the genuineness and/or determine the denomination of the bills.
Therefore, there is a need for a small, compact system that can denominate bills of different denominations of bills. Likewise there is such a need for a system that can discriminate the denominations of bills from more than more country. Likewise there is a need for such a small compact system that can readily be made to process the bills from a set of countries and yet has the flexibility so it can also be readily made to process the bills from a different set of one or more countries. Likewise, there is a need for a currency handling system that can satisfy these needs while at the same time being relatively inexpensive.
There is also a need for a currency handling system that can retrieve color information from currency bills. Currently, there are a systems that do perform color analysis on bills; however, these systems suffer from one or more drawbacks. For example, many of these color-capable systems are extremely large and expensive. Furthermore, some of these systems employ a color CCD array to scan bills. Color CCD arrays have the disadvantages of being expensive and requiring a considerable amount of processing power, thus requiring more expensive signal processors and more processing time. Additionally, one problem associated with color scanning is a need for bills to be more brightly illuminated than for standard scanning or analysis. However, adding additional light sources adds to the cost of the system and undesirably increases the heat that is generated and the power that is consumed.
Another drawback of prior color-capable currency handling systems is that they employ color scanhead arrangements that are themselves large in size which in turn requires the systems in which they are used to be larger.
Accordingly, there is a need for a small, compact, and less expensive full color scanning currency handling system. A full color scanning currency handling system uses all three of the primary colors to process and discriminate a currency bill or document. The term "primary colors" as used herein means colors from which all colors may be generated and includes the three additive primary colors (red, green, and blue) as well as the three subtractive primary colors (magenta, yellow, and cyan). Likewise, there is a need for a full color scanhead arrangement for use in such a system that will require less processing power and adequately address the issues of providing enough illumination while at the same time avoiding the problems of excessive heat generation and power consumption. There is a need for a full color scanning arrangement that can meet these needs in a cost effective manner.
There is also a need for a system that can distinguish documents via color. There is a further need for a system that can quickly preselect master patterns. Likewise there is a need for a system that can limit the master patterns compared to the test bill pattern thus reducing the number of no-calls and/or mis-calls. There is also a need for a system that allows high speed, low cost scanning of a wide variety of money and documents including casino script, amusement park script, stock certificates, bonds, postage stamps, and/or food coupons, or other such documents. Finally, there is a need for a system that can provide not only black and white data, but also color data corresponding to the document being processed.